France: Haute Maurienne

France: The Haute MaurienneLike Valais in Switzerland the Haute Maurienne is an Alpine region between two climates. The weather of northwestern Europe is blocked by the Col de l'Iseran, the second highest pass of the Alps. A southern feeling reaches in from Italy over the much lower Col de Mont Cénis. For centuries Italy's cultural influence seeped in as well, as seen in the high artistic quality of the frescoes in the valley's churches. Even more important is the natural heritage of the Haute Maurienne, since the northern slopes and mountains are part of the Vanoise, a high altitude national park, known for its hiking trails among mountain lakes and glaciers.

Already for centuries Bessans is a centre of religious wood carving. But only from the 19th century on the main subject became the devil. It's because a greedy pastor didn't fulfill his promice to offer the villagers a free meal once a year. So a local woodcutter sculpted a devil and, one night, put it in the window of the pastor. Ofcourse the pastor realized who had played a trick on him and put the devil in the window of the culprit. For a month the wood carving went back and forth, until the artist left it in his own window. By that time Bessans had become known for its devil and the new wood carving orders flowed in. Today this tradition is continued by sculptor Fabrice Personnaz, who has his atelier "Le Chapoteur" in Bessans. Photo Paul Smit.